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Activity: A power trip

Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students will apply their comprehension of information texts and maps to create a travel itinerary. Students will undertake research online to find the information needed to create their itinerary.

Activity developed in partnership with

Hydro Tasmania has been at the forefront of clean energy innovation for one hundred years. It is Australia’s largest producer of clean energy – generating hydro and wind power – and the largest water manager. Hydro Tasmania has 55 major dams, operates 30 hydropower stations and has built some of Australia’s largest wind farms.

Hydro Tasmania also sells energy in the National Electricity Market through its retail business Momentum Energy, and sells its expertise internationally through its consulting business Entura. Visit the Hydro Tasmania website to learn how the business is working towards Australia’s clean energy future.

Learning goals:

This lesson is designed to foster students’ capabilities in finding facts, interpreting information, reading maps and applying text-processing strategies.

Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas, comparing content from a variety of textual sources including media and digital texts (ACELY1713).

Year 5 Geography

Use criteria to make decisions and judgements and consider advantages and disadvantages of preferring one decision over others (ACHASSI103)

Present ideas, findings, viewpoints and conclusions in a range of texts and modes that incorporate source materials, digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms and conventions (ACHASSI105)

Year 6 Geography

Interpret data and information displayed in a range of formats to identify, describe and compare distributions, patterns and trends, and to infer relationships (ACHASSI128)

Teacher preparation

Teacher background information: Energy is the lifeblood of our modern life. It gives us light and keeps our food fresh. It powers our industry, fuels our cars, and charges our iPhones. Our energy is produced by burning fossil fuels and this has a range of environmental, social and economic impacts. One of the most significant is the emission of greenhouse gases. A solution is the transition to clean energy sources. The brilliant thing is that we have huge amounts of free, renewable and clean supplies of natural energies. These include sunlight, wind, running water, oceans and underground hot rocks.

Student Worksheet

Thought starter: What is the highest mountain in Tasmania?

Instructions to students

In this lesson, you will create a travel itinerary. First, read the introduction and task Instructions below and do some research using the links provided. You have 50 minutes to work on this task. Whatever is not finished by the end of the lesson will be your homework.

An Introduction to Hydro Tasmania

Hydro Tasmania provides electrical energy for the people of Tasmania, Australia’s island state. The word ‘hydro’ means ‘water’. Hydro Tasmania has thirty hydropower stations in Tasmania and a wind farm on an island in Bass Strait. Hydro Tasmania operates two wind farms on mainland Tasmania under a joint venture. Hydro Tasmania catches the electrical energy from these sources and sends it to places where it is needed, to power people’s homes and businesses.

Your task

Imagine you are a travel agent. Your task is to make a travel itinerary for a family of five (two parents, two kids and one grandparen